H.S. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Top seed Sacred Heart falls in quarterfinals

Tuesday

KINGSTON -- An amazing season for the Sacred Heart High girls volleyball team came to a bitter end on Tuesday.

The top seed in the Division 3 South Sectional, the Saints (20-1) were swept 3-0 by No. 9 Joseph Case in a quarterfinal matchup.

Saints coach Rob Slavin knew the Cardinals’ seeding didn’t matter, as Case (15-7) plays in a tough South Coast Conference and had quality losses to the likes of Bourne (which has advanced to the semifinals on the other side of the Div. 3 South bracket) and New Bedford.

“They play a very tough schedule,” Slavin said. “We thought we were ready to play, but their floor defense was so good, that was the difference. Overall, they passed better, they played better court defense, they were the better team tonight.”

The Cardinals defense keyed on Sacred Heart senior Abby Slavik, a middle hitter who recorded her 1,000th career kill last month. Slavik was limited to just 10 kills in the final match of her Saints career.

“Anyone that plays us is determined to take away Abby, our best option, and they did a great job,” Slavin said.

Right away, the Cardinals came out firing, using a 4-0 run to build a 10-6 lead in the opening set. A 7-0 Case run later in the set was the deciding factor, as the Saints suffered a 25-13 defeat.

Surprisingly, the second set was no different. Sacred Heart allowed a 5-0 run early, and a 6-0 Cardinals run later put the Saints at a 19-5 disadvantage. A late 4-0 Sacred Heart run still resulted in a 25-15 loss in set number two.

Case raced out to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but the Saints finally strung together a run of their own, scoring five straight points to make it a 10-8 Cardinals lead. After a Sacred Heart timeout, Case put together a 6-0 run and never relinquished. The Saints lost the third set 25-18.

Sacred Heart won its sixth consecutive Mayflower Athletic Conference title and totaled 20 wins this season, but Tuesday’s match was no doubt a surprise to the Sacred Heart faithful in attendance.

“That’s the price of playing in the tournament -- you can go up against a buzzsaw,” Slavin said. “I’m proud of my kids. They never quit. Even though they were way down they kept fighting it off.”

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